Walsingham

Absolutely. I don't believe for a moment that the Sunni general population approve of this. But these are Sunni aligned extremists.

I _was_ being deliberately over the top in calling you a fascist. I was a little concerned that people might be drifting towards the 'warrior' society ideal. The Zulu used to have a law that said you could not marry or have intercourse until you had 'washed your spear in blood' for the nation. Made the young regiments rather keen to get into battle. Also made them start wars all over the place. Basically I'm saying yes to discipline, yes to learning a little about real hardship, and even yes to risking life and limb. But I'm also suggesting that work service is more constructive (natch) and more conducive to maturity and humility. Military service can be downright immature and also quite cool, if you like getting covered in mud and running around like a pig. Cleaning up after old folks, or tending to cerebral palsy kids, or repainting blocks of flats is tough physically and emotionally, no bullets required. I need hardly point out that work service would be money otherwise spent on having pricvate contractors do the work, probably with no greater enthusiasm.

One of the best games I ever helped run, we had three refs and two players. One lead ref handled plot. One ref handled conversations and descriptions with NPCs. The last ref described and tracked terrain, scenery, and mood effects. Very very cool.

Jesus saves! Everyone else roll for damage.... Sorry, that always cracks me up. :D

Something I often forget when a long time away from the states is the lack of Govt involvement with people. Living in our Socialist paradise [imagine, if you will the Red Flag being played on a kazoo] we assume that poor unfortunates will get nannied to safety by concerned bobbies. My observation was that the sherriff simply told people to get out and left it at that. Many of the poor folk on TV seem to have had no money to leave, and no place to go. I think the very poor assumed it would be not so bad as all that. I guess maybe when you have bugger all you assume Ma Nature won't take that away as well. I might also point out that evacuating these people in advance by truck and setting them up in temporary housing would have been both more humane and cheaper than winching them out, however good it looks on TV. I did hear at least two people today comment that maybe the US establishment will take climate change more seriously now. But I doubt it.

Who defines the test? Service is fine, but if your object is to risk life and limb I can tell you all service duties aren't created equal. Moreover, I hate to say it but the military doesn't turn you into clean-jawed right-thinking honest folk. You crazy fascists! Military training and military service expose you to certain experiences. That's all. How you turn out is another business entirely. However, I do agree that some kind of rite of passage into the electorate is a good idea. If only so people valued their right to vote more. Personally I'd rather keep military stuff in the hands of keen professionals, and the hordes of stinkabouts that constitute the general public in some other national endeavour. Community construction, care, and education projects spring to mind. You can keep it tough, gritty, and actually teach people useful skills. Not just how to kill. Which in our well-run state should be a rare necesssity.

No offence, but that hardly sounds rivetting. I'm really having trouble with the morrowind editor though. All interior terrain seems to place randomly at different levels, and refuses to match up. Am I wrong to suspect dark Sixth House influences?

I blame those French! The did it on purpose, putting the French Quarrter there under the sea level. What were the citizens meant to do? Build the 3/4 of New Orleans somewhere else? Dispicable, those French knew this would happen, three hundred years ago! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oui, certainement, mon ami! Er... yes, good show.

I think we can at least agree that it is dishonourable. Honour being an outdated and foolish concept that disapproves of things like murdering peaceful people to stir up hatred.

I recall searching for portraits once, and finding no end of pages containing ones from both games. I'd link, but I have to run off for dinner!

Viva la n00b, baby! :D

Please let me know where you are standing that poisoning peaceful worshippers purely to stir up sectarian hatred is moral. I need to know in case I accidentally loiter there.

Volourn certainly is one Kanadian who is going to get a spanking from the discipline moose before long. I've only met one Kanadian who wasn't fantastic. And he had been effectively chucked out of Kanad... I mean Canada. Cornsarnit, now I'm doing it.

I'd agree on principle that smaller communities have better community spirit. BUT Don't bigger cities and teams also sell out more space to corporate hospitality? Woud that count in the sales or the wasted seats?

Lucius, I promise I will correct my lack of knowledge regarding the Danish commitments asap. Steve: I should say that I may be applying a personal bias. I have never trusted regulations over the right people in any sphere of activity. I've got a thing for it. Imagine drawing up a 'constitution' for marriage, for example. Could be inappropriate generalising, is what I'm getting at. Meta: I think the Germans just have a great sense of public spirit, public duty, and thereby attention to the minutiae that make public things work. Similar to the other nordlanders.

Latest report, 50 civvies killed with the poisoned juice. The only positive note to draw from all this is that acts of this nature may shake the faith of the average Arab in the goals of the insurgency. A lot in this insurgency depends on how the Arab media reports it. EDIT: as an aside, when we are renovating Iraq it might be smart to take into account these pilgrimage routes, and put some thought into improving them from a general crowd safety perspective.

Quiet, you crazy old-timer, or I'll take back that rocking-chair and shotgun.

I don't want to bad-mouth the Danes, but the Canadian military produce not only extremely competent warfighters, but their record in peace-keeping is also superb. So I'd suggest tehir military packs a higher punch. Meta: You mention fascism being efficient and effective. My understanding was that it was actually not terribly efficient or effective. The Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese all made a dreadful hash of things. A German old-timer once told me it was also nonsense about the trains running on time. They were still late under the Nazis. This may not be true, but it amuses me.

I don't know I measure up to any of that description. Block-headed rather than devious, certainly. I like to think I'm loyal, but it's not like it gets tested every day. I think I have to disagree about the roadside bombings. But such an act would fall, as it were, within 99% interval of my definition. I certainly don't think it takes any heroism to mount an IED or snipe at a patrol in the present climate. But then having been shot at myself I'm not going to be very sympathetic! It's interesting that you see a suicide bomber as a terrorist, but not a random assailant firing on soldiers from civilian areas. I'd suggest you learna little more about how suicide bombers are manufactured by their leaders. To a large extent the poor s.ob.s are victims too.

Steve, when the anti-democrats get down to business they always side-step written constitutions. Constitutions are the static 'maginot line' of political conflict; because they can be planned around, and out-manoeuvred. The only credible defence against anti-democrats is a people who come out in support of representatives seized of the spirit of democratic freedom. I happen to agree our rights have already been abrogated. In fact the only written part of the British constitutional structure - the Magna Carta - has been grossly abrogated by long-term detention without trial. Both written and unwritten have been undermined. And I don't believe writing the whole thing out would have made a difference. Another case in point - the United States, which has about the most robust constitution out there, and the deepest foundations, has had its constitution ignored many times over. In fact, I'd go even farther and say constitutions offer merely a dangerous and seductive illusion of safety.

That's correct. A devious patriot, and extremely loyal to the crown. And I genuinely don't see how this incident is anything other than an expose of how facile it is to claim "one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter." *shrugs* Maybe it's just me.

I'm Spanish, so no. I'm not associated in any way with the US military. And I wasn't discounting the French military. It was a general comment about some European countries that have disbanded their armies, not France specifically. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fair enough! We in Europe have long been depending on US military backing to guarantee our sovreignty through NATO. Something we'd do well to remember the next time we accuse the US of trying to loom large over us. I was going to stad up for the French because they take their armed forces much more seriously than us Brits, and arguably with more success. They're certainly on a par.

Er... I don't want to egt on a high horse, because the British Empire cheerfully participated in slavery. But it has been a part of human 'civilisation' around the world. I might also point out that it was Britain that not only banned slavery, but authorised the use of HM ships to seize and repatriate slaves being traded by others. Long before the US outlawed slavery. Yeah, we Euros can be weenies, but you're not helping by spouting absolute rot. Steve: We have no constitution yet are now, and have been for some time one of the more free democracies in the world. I can list you any number of constituted democracies that have succumbed to degrees of dictatorship. A constitution is no substitute for a vigorous and lively sense of our rights. And if we have that, then we need no constitution. EDIT: 233374U, I thought you claimed to be associated with the US Army. Yet you discount the French armed forces?

Ah, baiting. I wonder if anyone will bite. :ph34r: <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm sorry. Perhaps the comment was unfair. Perhaps you will explain how?

Actually I meant I couldn't get the link to work. :">